On his visit to the infirmary in the afternoon before the Magical Shift tournament, Lilia waved his hand over the roses. A lime green glow fell over them, and the small, darkened edges in the petals turned deep red in the blink of an eye.

"Wow! The flowers look better now!" Grim exclaimed, stunned, and stood on the bed to get a closer look.

"Incredible!" Yuu murmured, amazed.

Lilia laughed, amused. "This is very simple for me, but your reactions reveal that you have never seen anything alike."

"Nope, I'd never imagined this, yanno!" Grim exclaimed.

Yuu shook his head. "Neither did I. Well, not until recently."

"That's right. I suppose it must be much more impressive for someone who conceived magic as something non-existent until recently," Lilia added.

"Yes, there's nobody who has magical powers like this back at home," Yuu answered while he pointed at the roses.

"Does that mean there aren't any beings that live on magic either, such as fairies or monsters?" Lilia asked, surprised.

Yuu gave a shy smile and shrugged. "Not that it is known and confirmed worldwide," he replied.

"I'll say it again, what a boring world!" Grim exclaimed in disbelief. "How can anyone live without doing cool, bang-bang spells?"

Lilia put a thoughtful hand on his chin. "I personally find it difficult to imagine a world without magic, but I'm sure it must have its own good qualities that make it unique," he said.

Yuu laughed. "It has its pros and cons, we manage there in one way or another." He looked at the girl's sleeping face. She looked so calm... Yet she didn't wake up or react to people talking in front of her, the only movement she made was her breathing. "But thank you very much for this, Lilia, she would've loved this too," Yuu added, outlining a small smile.

"It's nothing, this is just a small detail. This way, these little ones will stay fresh until our newcomer finally wakes up."

"They told us it shouldn't take her long to wake up, but it's already been days..." Grim commented.

"It could be any time now, I've seen people who fell unconscious and ended up waking up sooner or later," Lilia said. "I even met someone who took about a month."

Yuu gasped worriedly, and Lilia realized he should correct himself before making him feel distressed. "Oh! But he had fallen into a coma after a severe collision to the head and blood loss from an injury, and yet he ended up waking up safe and sound. I doubt our Yuki here will take as long as him."

"What the heck happened to that guy to go through all that!?" Grim asked, shocked.

"That's a story for another time," Lilia answered with a mysterious smile before looking at Yukiko. "What I meant to say is that we must trust she'll be able to stand up quickly after she opens her eyes, like the princess from the legend."

"Huh? What princess?" Grim asked curiously, calmer.

"Oh, haven't you heard about the legend of the Sleeping Princess?" Lilia asked with a surprised smile. "It is a famous tale from my home, the Briar Valley. I used to tell it to Malleus and Silver when they were young."

Yuu already knew that Silver was the silver-haired boy who was going to participate with them in the counterattack and lent Cater his dorm uniform. But he couldn't picture that other name he heard so many times before. "Diasomnia's dorm leader?" He asked, curious.

"Yes, our illustrious leader and the crown prince of the Briar Valley! I guess you've heard of him."

"I've heard a few things, but never actually seen him, so I don't know if they are true."

As if he did not expect to hear that, Lilia's eyes widened. "Really? Haven't you ever seen Malleus around school?"

Yuu shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"Me neither. Is it true he's very scary?" Grim asked before frowning. "Does he even exist?"

"To be honest, I've been thinking for days that there's nobody scarier than Leona..." Yuu confessed.

Lilia looked at Grim for a second, then at Yuu, and finally snorted before putting a hand to his stomach and laughing out loud.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Grim asked, stunned. "Did we say somethin' funny?"

"No, no. My apologies, but I really didn't expect this!" Lilia exclaimed before calming down and returning to the main topic. "It is told in that story that a fair princess fell victim to a powerful spell by accident. After that, she was subjected to a long sleep until her beloved prince broke it with a kiss of true love."

"That sounds like a fairytale from my world!" Yuu commented, surprised. "I think I've read something similar in one book from the library too, but I haven't heard much about it." He found it strange for a second not to feel anything in his left shoulder nor a sense of familiarity, as sometimes happened upon seeing or hearing things that had to do with stories, anecdotes, or legends...

"Yuck!" Grim complained about the kiss scene as he stuck out his tongue. "Such a corny story!"

"Grim," Yuu said with soft severity as he raised an eyebrow to make him clear to be careful with what he said.

On the other hand, Lilia chuckled over this. "This is one of the typical stories whose moral tells that love prevails over the bad things, but I suppose some young people are not so passionate about romance. Although that's just a legend, our Yuki here will wake up as soon as she gets better," he placed a hand on Yuu's shoulder. "And I sincerely think she'll wake up at any moment, you need to have a little more patience, and you'll see."

"Thank you," Yuu murmured.

"And this case may not be about a spell, but it might help if you give her a kiss," Lilia said, cheerfully. "Love doesn't have to be exclusively romantic, you know? It can also family love, siblings included."

"I gave her a couple of kisses on the forehead these last few days," Yuu commented before laughing softly. "Does that mean she'll wake up earlier?"

"Who knows? Maybe!" Lilia exclaimed, amused. "Oh, that's right. You two can stay a bit longer, but I should head to Heartslabyul dorm now. Riddle and the others must be waiting for us."

"We were going to leave in a moment anyway, we'll go with you," Yuu said before standing up and helping Grim get off the bed.

But he waited a moment for both of them to walk away to finish saying goodbye to his sister. He moved closer to her again and placed one more kiss on her forehead. "Let's see if it works," he whispered with a tender smile before hurrying to reach them.

It was clearly impossible that a few kisses could make a physically unconscious person wake up faster. The following night, however, one girl in particular finally reacted to lots of laughter and a cheerful, childish voice that seemed to be talking to her.

"Yuu... Could you take care of this one? ...I'm tired..."

Yukiko shifted slightly on the bed. The feeling was so intense that Yuu covered his mouth as he wondered if it was finally happening or if the impact on his head made him hear things. It couldn't be the latter because Grim's and the three beastmen's ears had also twitched involuntarily. Silence filled the infirmary as all pairs of eyes turned to the source of the murmur.

"Wait, what?" Ace asked aloud, stunned.

"Yukiko?" Yuu muttered with hope.

"Look, she's waking up!" Cheka exclaimed happily, despite being the only one there who didn't understand the context of the situation.

The girl groaned again as she stretched out her numb limbs, and brought a hand to her face to rub both eyes. After hearing that child's voice, the first thought to come to her head was to believe she had fallen asleep in the daycare center during nap time. But she shortly remembered the strange dream with her brother in which a man with lion ears lamented not being able to be king.

Unaware of being watched under various gazes, she yawned and opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she could make out was a bush of orange hair accompanied by small, animal-like ears.

"Good morning!" Cheka greeted her happily. "Well, good night actually, because it's dark and the stars are up in the sky."

She finished clearing her mind and vision enough to make out a little boy staring at her with big, sparkling eyes just inches from her face. She gave a small, surprised gasp and sat carefully on the bed. "Hello, little fella..." She said, a bit confused but awed by his cuteness. She swallowed hard to try to reduce the dryness in her mouth and speak clearly. "Um... what's your name?"

"I'm Cheka. Oh, you have beautiful eyes! They're blue, like my best friend Nia's, but yours are darker. She's got very light-blue eyes."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, and my mom too!"

Yukiko was going to say something, but was interrupted by Grim's joyous squeak: "FGNAA! She finally opened her eyes!!"

After that scare, she finally realized that not only had she woken up in an unknown place, but Cheka was not the only one there with her. She looked around until she recognized the person that was more excited to see her. "Yuu...?"

"Yuki!" Yuu exclaimed as he took off his blanket and stood up.

"Careful, you're hurt!" Deuce said worriedly while holding out an arm to slow him down, but Yuu barely heard him and sat on the edge of his sister's bed.

"You're awake!" Yuu exclaimed with a big smile. Not wanting to overwhelm her with a tight hug just after waking up, he just placed a hand over hers.

"Stay here. I'll bring the headmaster!" Jack offered before hurrying out into the hall.

As if she doubted what was happening, Yukiko looked around again. "Are we... in another dream?"

Yuu shook his head and squeezed her hand a little more tightly. "No, not this time. You're as awake as I am...!" He could say with a voice broken by emotion. Although technically they had only seen each other a few hours ago, the joy of being able to talk to her again outside of dreams was overflowing. "You're finally back!"

Yukiko noticed the elaborate robes she wore when she first woke up, neatly folded on a nearby chair. She had almost forgotten about it, but with that and how real everything seemed convinced her that everything was actually happening. She looked at him with emotion before enveloping him in a hug. "I hate I've worried you so much..."

"Don't say that! What matters is that you're okay. And you're here now," Yuu said while returning her hug.

Still sitting up in bed, Cheka looked at the twins with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "Huh? What's going on here?" He asked innocently. 

That was the signal for Leona to finally decide to get his nephew out of there, not only was he making a lot of noise, he didn't want him to interrupt the awaited reunion of the siblings either. "Let's go, Cheka. We're going to get that big hunk and the skinny dude to take you home."

"What!? No! I want to talk more with the girl!" Cheka refused as he backed away from Leona's arms.

"That's for another day. The girl's very tired, and your bodyguards must be terrified," Leona sighed before formulating a proposal he knew Cheka would not reject. "What if we talk about Magift on the way back?"

Cheka's eyes lit up immediately. "Really? Yes!! Goodbye, miss! I'm leaving with Unca Leona," he exclaimed.

"Look how quickly changed his mind, the little guy..." Ruggie muttered, surprised.

After he was scooped up in his uncle's arms, Cheka waved goodbye, and Yukiko smiled as she mimicked the gesture. She took a closer look at Leona and was surprised to recognize him as the man from the latest dream. He stared back at her for a few seconds before flashing an unusual, kind smile. "Hey," he greeted before leaving the infirmary with Cheka.

Now with Ruggie and the Heartslabyul duo with them, Grim ran over to the bed. Although she was happy to see her brother, Yukiko still hadn't finished processing what was happening.

"Where are we?" She asked while looking around.

"In the school infirmary, they took you here after you passed out," Yuu replied before grabbing her hand again. "It's been five days since..."

"Five?" She repeated, stunned.

"And now you finally woke up! We didn't know how much longer you were goin' to take," Grim interrupted excitedly as he jumped onto the bed. Yukiko looked at him in surprise. "What's wrong? I'm so amazing that I left you speechless?"

"Grim just met her, and he's already showing off..." Ace mumbled.

"He does that with everyone," Deuce whispered back.

Yuu laughed, managing to calm the excitement a little, and pointed at them one by one with his hand. "Yukiko, this little smug here is Grim," he introduced. "And they are our friends Ace and Deuce. Guys, my twin sister, Yuki."

Grim couldn't let off the great offense he had just received. "Little smug!? I'm the great Grim and you know it!!" He yelled before turning to Yukiko. "Mind you, all this time I've made sure to protect your brother from horrible dangers. You'll thank me later!" He held out a paw towards her. "Nice to meet ya!"

Seeing him react and introduce himself like that, Yukiko finally smiled cherfully, and gave him a gentle handshake. "Then thank you very much, Grim. I'm glad my brother is safe with you."

"Don't trust much of what he says. He's gotten me into more trouble than taking me out of it," Yuu joked.

"You, ungrateful!" Grim reproached him.

Before they started a new fight, Ace approached Yukiko and formed a heart with both hands, a gesture that he liked to do to greet people. "Hi, there! I'm Ace Trappola, I'm in the same class as your brother," he said. "Nice to finally meet you, Yuu told us a lot about you."

"Hello, Ace. Same here, nice to meet you!" Yukiko greeted him while shaking his hand too.

Ace had introduced himself with his typical cheerful and jovial personality, but Deuce stood completely still and clenched his fists tightly. "Hi, I... I'm Deuce Spade..." He was able to mutter before completely blocking himself and keep staring at the floor.

"Hello, Deuce!" Yukiko murmured. Her head was clear enough to notice how uncomfortable he looked. "Hey, is something wrong?" She asked him.

Ace couldn't help a short laugh.

"Don't worry, he's ok. It's just..." Yuu said before bringing a hand to his mouth and whispering without any care: "...he's afraid of girls."

"No, I'm not afraid!" Deuce replied with an annoyance tinged with embarrassment. "It's just... I don't usually talk to them. Sorry, that sounded awful! I meant to say...!"

"Calm down, Deuce. I told you she doesn't bite unless you give her a reason," Yukiko laughed at her brother's joke. "Oh, that's right," Yuu continued as he pointed back at Deuce. "I don't know if you remember it, Yuki, but he's the one who went to help you after you were pushed to the floor that time."

"You just reminded me of that," Ace said before raising an eyebrow and giving a sly smile toward Deuce. "You weren't so nervous by then, huh?"

Deuce blushed even more. "Leave me alone!" He exclaimed before flinching and looking at Yukiko. "My... My apologies! I didn't mean to raise my voice... Much less after you just woke up."

"Don't worry, nice to meet you, Deuce," Yukiko assured. "Thank you for helping me that time. You were very kind."

Deuce couldn't help but blush but perked up enough to meet her eyes and flash a small smile. "It was nothing, I couldn't leave you lying there," he said with a low voice.

"Hey, should I go? I think I'm just a viewer now," a dejected Ruggie murmured as he felt invisible and out of place, despite being still in the nearest bed and witnessing a very personal moment for others from the beginning.

"No, you don't have to," Yuu insisted before pointing at him. "And this here is Ruggie, he's a second-year classmate. We've just begun to not be on bad terms with each other."

"You're sure blunt, what a way to introduce me..." Ruggie whispered, stunned. "But anyway, I'm Ruggie Bucchi. Nice to meet ya, infirmary roommate," he greeted her with a smile.

"Hello!" She greeted back before staring at him. That peculiar appearance looked quite familiar too...

"How are you feeling?" Yuu asked her, interrupting her thoughts. "Do you need something?"

"I'm good, I think. Just a bit tired," Yukiko answered before swallowing for the second time and coughing from the dryness in her throat. "Well... Is there some water around here?"

"Yeah, I'll get you a cup," Yuu said as he stood up.

"Slow down or you'll hurt yourself more," Deuce reminded as Yuu reached for a jar with water that was placed on the nearest counter.

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked just before noticing the bandage around her brother's head and becoming alarmed. "Hey, what happened you there!?"

"Grim hit him in the forehead with a metal disc by accident," Ace replied. "It hurt just looking at it."

"What!?"

"Believe him, it was really an accident. It doesn't hurt that much anymore," Yuu assured while he handed her a plastic cup full of water.

"You should see me play Magical Shift, I'm great!" Grim insisted.

Yukiko looked at Grim with a raised eyebrow before gulping down the water greedily, feeling the dryness in her mouth and throat ease with each swallow.

"You just have to learn to aim for the goal instead of someone's head," Ruggie teased.

"Yeah, yeah..." Grim mumbled before turning to Yukiko. "Changing the topic, let me tell ya that you've got a pretty weird name, yanno? Even more than Yuu's," he told her. "It's also much longer and harder to say out loud!"

Yukiko blinked curiously. "Really?" She asked while placing her empty cup on the nightstand.

"Yeah, let's just say your names are unusual for us," Ace explained. "That's why the prefect told us to call you Yuki, to make it easier."

"I'm the prefect," Yuu clarified. "I told them that's how we usually call you at home, is that okay with you?"

"Oh, sure!" Yukiko nodded. She immediately remembered that Ortho had said something similar to her, despite the fact he was able to pronounce both her first and last names correctly. "My friends usually call me like that too, so no problem."

"Then better yet, Yuki!" Grim exclaimed as he raised his arms happily.

They still had a lot to talk about and Yukiko had many questions on her mind, but some of them were going to be answered as best as possible as soon as two people entered the infirmary. "Sorry for the wait, I'm back with the headmaster!" Jack announced as the headmaster peeked out from behind him.

Crowley looked at the students and raised his free hand gleefully as he recognized Yukiko sitting on the bed. "Oh, I can't believe my eyes! So wonderful!" He exclaimed as he approached with his elegant cane. "This is a truly memorable night!"

Everyone gave him looks that ranged between surprise and astonishment, no one expected that the headmaster would be so happy to see her finally awake. "Good night, headmaster!" Deuce greeted.

Yukiko jumped as she saw better the curious-looking man walking directly toward her. That voice also seemed very similar to one she heard before...

"Don't be scared, little one," Crowley told her with a reassuring smile. "I understand you must be confused by the situation you find yourself in, but I can assure that you are safe here."

"This is Mr. Crowley, Yukiko. The headmaster," Yuu introduced him while Crowley looked for a chair. "You can trust him, he's been helping me all this time."

"That's right. For I'm very kind, after all," the headmaster answered as he sat down next to the bed and leaned his cane on the nightstand. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Dire Crowley, headmaster of this school and young Yuu's guardian. It's my pleasure to finally talk with you, I have heard a lot about you, young Yuki. I also heard that you were looking for me with little Shroud the other day."

"Who? Oh, right. With Ortho," Yukiko said, remembering that was his last name. "We walked a lot while looking for you, sir."

"I know, I wish I could've figured it out sooner," Crowley said, his voice soft now. "I trust that the youngest of the Shrouds explained to you what place is this after you woke up in the Mirror Chamber."

"Yes, he said we are in something like an academy or school of magic, right?"

"That's correct. We are precisely in Night Raven College, one of the most prestigious magic schools in Twisted Wonderland," Crowley affirmed.

"Twisted... what...?" Yukiko asked, confused, remembering hearing that name with Ortho.

"That's the name of this world," Yuu explained.

"What do you mean by 'world'?" She questioned. She felt a sense of deja-vu, as if she had heard that word before.

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"This may be a lot to take, but the thing is that you've made a journey from your homeworld to ours, just like your brother here," Crowley explained. "The reason and cause are still unknown."

After hearing that, Yukiko was too shocked to say anything and looked at her brother. "Then mom..."

Yuu sat down next to her a second time and shook his head wistfully. "I haven't heard from her or anyone at home since I got here..."

Not knowing what to say nor even what to think, she stared at the bed in silence, trying to process this new situation. Knowing how she felt, Yuu grabbed her hand again.

"How are you feeling now?" Crowley asked her. "Do you remember anything before you woke up here, in the infirmary?"

Now that her mind was clear, Yukiko ordered the events leading up to her dreams with Yuu that had brought her here. "Yes. First, I woke up in a coffin. Then Ortho found me, and we walked around. I started to cough a lot and felt very bad... And then..."

Her body began to tremble as she recalled the physical discomfort, that sinister vomit, the guy who tried to attack her, and the dark steam that clouded her vision... Her eyes widened in horror, and she covered her mouth with a hand to suppress a scream.

"Hey, hey. It's okay, that's long over...!" Yuu said softly as he hugged her. "It's okay, you're here with us now."

Yukiko pressed herself against him to try to soothe her disordered breathing. She squeezed her eyes shut and told herself to limit that awful memory like a nightmare.

The headmaster and the others in the infirmary gave her sympathetic looks, after the incident with Riddle and the battle against Leona just a few hours ago, they knew that she was lucky to have gotten out of something horrible in time.

"What happened to me...?" Yukiko asked when she calmed down enough.

"That, young lady, was that you were about to enter into Overblot state," Crowley replied calmly before explaining what it was. He talked about the blot and the necessary precautions to avoid it. Everyone listened to him carefully, even if it was information they heard before.

"Excess of magic?" She repeated when he finished the explanation. "It's true I was very nervous, I didn't know where I was and wanted to find Yuu as soon as possible. But I didn't do any magic, I literally can't."

"That's what you think, young Yuki, but, unlike young Yuu, you actually can... Or rather, you've started to do it," Crowley began a new explanation about what they had learned so far. He didn't miss important parts like the strong magic that turned against her and the accumulation of blot that deteriorated her health, thus causing fever, violent coughing, and sneezing.

"My own magic turns against myself?" Yukiko summed up, shocked, while she caressed her right shoulder, and realized that her clothes there were burned. "Is that why I threw up... that...?" She shuddered upon thinking about that disgusting black liquid and put a hand to her stomach.

"The blot usually appears on the outer surface of the body when the use of magic is exceeded," Crowley nodded. "But your case is extreme enough to accumulate it inside as well. That's why we've contacted a doctor to confirm it."

"You never mentioned any of that before, sir," Yuu commented, susprised by this new revelation.

"At the morning, a doctor came here and visited her for a checkup while she was still asleep. I was going to tell you tomorrow after you recovered from your hit in the head," Crowley explained. "This case is rare, so we have agreed not to disclose it outside school territory unless it's necessary."

"Puking blot, so scary...!" Grim muttered, fearful.

"The good thing is that we can avoid it," Crowley continued before smiling. "Someone who knows about your case gave us a solution: that beautiful choker around your neck completely seals your magic to keep it at bay."

Yukiko gasped slightly and put a hand to her neck, feeling the soft silk of the choker there. "That's right, you put this on me that time," she said while smiling at Yuu, and he nodded.

"You have also a white one," Yuu added. "It will regulate your magic so it becomes normal. Oh wait, let me get the letter," he said before opening one of the drawers in the nightstand and taking out the letter delivered by the white dove. "It explains everything here."

Yukiko began to read it and reviewed what she had just learned about her new situation. "Where is that white choker?" She asked as she looked up. "Will it really make my magic normal?"

"Don't worry, I have it in our dorm," Yuu replied as Grim sat next to him.

"Having in mind that the black choker is sealing your magic perfectly, we can trust that the white one will work and regulate your magical energy levels until they're safe," Crowley said.

"She only has to wear that to fix her magic?" Ruggie asked, surprised at how easy it seemed. "It doesn't sound that bad."

"Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it looks," Crowley said as he shook his head. "Have you reached that part in the letter?" Yukiko shook her head. "Then give it to me for a minute, I'll summarize the content," he cleared his throat: "For the white choker to take effect and regulate your magic to safe levels, you must wear it while practicing any kind of magic or doing continuous, physical movement. And as your magic adjusts to normal levels, the choker will gradually turn from white into a golden color."

"Golden? Wow...!" Ruggie muttered, amazed.

"Still doesn't sound too hard," Yukiko commented. "I can work out, so I won't have a problem with the continuous movement."

"Here comes the hard part," Crowley continued. "According to this, your body and its defenses become sensitive due to the involuntary production of blot; so while you're wearing the white choker, the unstable magic will contribute to a series of ailments and secondary symptoms," he read the letter to enumerate them: "Such as discomfort, dizziness, tiredness, violent sneezing, nausea, fever... So you can't wear the white choker all the time, you must put the black one back on as soon as you feel bad."

Yuu had even mentioned that the white choker had side effects, but he didn't go so far as to specify that they were that harsh.

"My goodness..." Deuce muttered.

Ace swallowed hard. "All that for just having magic!?" If he had to choose, he would rather not have any magic at all than having it and going through all that.

"Here is added that your symptoms will ease as your magic is regulated," Crowley reported. "The doctor concluded that the process will be slow, and it may take you months to turn the choker into a golden color."

"Months? Wait, Yuu said somethin' like that before," Grim recalled dejectedly. "What a bummer! Why does she have to go through such trouble for havin' magic?"

Yukiko shook her head and clutched the sheets in frustration, feeling exhausted with just thinking about those seconday effects. She always had an excellent health, she would only get sick in winter due to colds. But now she would go through such hardships because of some problematic magic!? "I've never asked for this! Isn't there a way to erase it or something?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, young lady... There's nothing that can remove a person's magical energy," Crowley replied calmly. "In any case, it can only be sealed or blocked to keep it at bay. That doctor recommended that you take all the time to balance your magic. And I agree with him that the most important thing here is prioritizing your health, understood?"

Yukiko sighed in defeat and put a hand to her neck once more. "I think so," she said with a small voice.

"Very well. There are more details I want to discuss, like the communication through dreams. But we have enough to think about for tonight. We'll leave the rest for tomorrow. That's why I'm going to tell you not to take off the black choker until then, okay?" Crowley said insistently. "No matter what!"

"Understood, sir..." Yukiko assured.

"Perfect. One last important question before we wrap up here, is this okay with you?" Yukiko nodded. "Very well, young Yuu has amnesia about his arrival, but do you remember anything before waking up inside the gate? Like a Black Carriage, also known as Ebony Carriage, picking you up? Something like that?"

"No, the last thing I remember is saying good night to Yuu before going to sleep..." Yukiko said thoughtfully. "But what I do remember is feeling like being in some dark, but warm place."

Everyone frowned or raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this strange response. "Anything else?" Crowley asked, hoping to get more information. "Was something else there?"

"Didn't you say it was enough for tonight?" All boys thought to themselves.

"I couldn't see anything. I even felt like having my eyes closed..." Yukiko continued. "But I do remember that I used to hear sounds and voices... Is that normal?"

"Interesting..." Crowley muttered, theorizing about what he had just heard. "This requires more conversation, but we'll leave it for tomorrow."

"You can't say something like that and just leave it like this!" Ace exclaimed. "What kind of voices!?"

"They sounded a bit like yours... Maybe...?" Yukiko answered doubtfully as she put a hand to her head and narrowed her eyes tiredly.

"I insist that we leave it for later, today has been a long day for all of us and we already have a lot to think about," the headmaster repeated. "More importantly, can you stand up now, young Yuki? Or do you need to rest here a little longer?"

Yukiko moved her legs and sat up with little difficulty on the edge of the bed. "I'm fine," she assured.

"Excellent!" Crowley exclaimed before standing up and grabbing his cane. "Then we can start to prepare the ceremony."

They all looked at him without knowing what he could be talking about. To their knowledge, there was no upcoming ceremony planned. "What?" Jack, Ruggie, and Grim asked at the same time.

"What do you mean, headmaster?" Deuce asked.

"What else could I mean, young Spade?" Crowley asked before smiling widely. "A new entrance ceremony! So we can sort young Yuki into her dorm and finalize her admission into Night Raven College as a student, of course."

[Published in 12/11/2022]

The Dark Mirror will announce a very specific dorm, but which one do you think our newcomer Yukiko will be sorted in?